Sladok played his junior hockey in his native Slovakia, representing his country at Junior World Championships at  Under 17 and Under 18. He then had two seasons at the Plymouth Whalers in the OHL and a season at the CorpusChristi Icerayz of the CHL before returning to Slovakia at the end of the 2008/9 season.

Sladok first came to the UK in 2009-10, when he signed for Jesse Hammill at the Romford Raiders, where he immediately made an impact as a strong D-Man who would stand up for his teammates if called upon. He stepped upto the Elite league the following season when he joined the Hull Stingrays, and last season was also in the Elite League with the Edinburgh Capitals.

Head Coach Jon Kynaston commented on the signing ‘Jozef is a player i just felt we needed inthe team. He has size and a simple, solid defensive game – he will get the puck to our forwards, create the space we need clearing in front of our net, manage the walls in our zone and be a general presence on the ice. In our small rink his frame will be an obstacle for opponents.

‘Jozef will be the toughest guy in our league and if anyone thinks different it will make for an interesting evening.  First and foremost he is here to play and he will be a big part of our team, but we have a player that will also manage the oppositions behaviour if required.

‘We have been talking to Jozef for quite a while and its great to get it the deal signed.’

On his return the EPL, Sladok said ‘I’m happy to be part of the Phantoms organisation and am looking forward to next season. I used to love playing in Peterborough, whilst playing with Romford a few seasons ago, and remember it as a great place to play hockey.’

Bentham joined the Phantoms from the Invicta Dynamo’s in October 2011 and immediately impressed the Bretton failthful with his gritty style of play.

Blackburn born Bentham was a product of his hometown’s Junior Development Programme where he played junior hockey through to the 2002/2003 season, after which he moved his development to Nottingham where he made his senior debut as a 16 year old for the Nottingham Lions in 2006.

His senior career continued the following season with the Blackburn Hawks in the English National League before a brief stint in the English Premier League with Romford Raiders and Wightlink Raiders before returning to the English National League with Invicta Dynamos. Bemntham scored 9 goals and had 11 assists in 51 games during the season, aswell as leading the team in penalty minutes with 94 through the season.

Head Coach, Jon Kynaston, commented on his latest signing ‘It’s great to have Richard back at the club. He is a young player with potential and I believe we can help him become a more mature player at this level.

‘I really like how Richie wants to play for our club – it’s an important theme to our recruitment and with that desire to be here as a coach I can expect him to give his all, always.

‘He is also versatile to play as a forward and in defence and is capable in both positions. He is looking forward to getting to work with the team ahead of te new season.’

Ian, 78, was a stalwart Peterborough Ice Hockey supporter who had been involved with the Pirates and supporterd the Phantoms since day one. He was one of the group of ice hockey supporters, who took over the Peterborough Pirates when the team ran out of money in 1993, and then took over the rink and repaired it when the owner went into administration a year later.

Born in Airdrie, Ian spent seven years reporting on newspapers and radio in Canada, before coming to Peterborough with his wife Margaret in 1985 to work on the Evening Telegraph. He moved on to production on the associated national periodicals, Garden News and You and Yours, and then left to join the editorial team on Cambridge Evening news.

One of Ian’s lasting contributions to Peterborough ice hockey are the 1,000 plus terraced seats around the ice pad. A few months of the Pirates directors took over the rink, Ian heard that more than 1,000 seats had been taken out of the Notts County football club’s stand by the firm carrying out refurbishment work. Ian took a van to Nottingham, collected the unwanted seats and had them back in Peterborough in less than 24 hours. The Manager of the then Nottingham Stadium telephoned Peterborough to say he had planned to take the ex-football club seats, and could Peterborough spare any.

Ian published several Autobiographical books, including Peterborough Legend Doug McEwens Autobiography.

Ian leaves three children (Gayle, Janis and Ian), five grand children and eight great grandchildren. His wife Margaret, who was also a keen ice hockey fan, died 14 years ago and a trophy in her name has been presented to a player selected by the family at the end of each season since then.

David Thorpe, one of the two surviving members of the group of supporters that took over the rink to keep ice hockey in the city, said: “Eddie Porter, who brought senior ice hockey to Peterborough with his wife Peggy, in the 1980s and then helped to keep the ice rink open in the 1990s, died last month. Another of the group, Ian Dyos died some years ago. They were good friends, steadfast workers for ice hockey in the city, and the sport’s fans can remember them with pride and affection for what they did.”

***UPDATE***
Message from Ian’s Family…
On behalf of Ian’s family we would like to extend our sincere  gratitude to all the posts, emails, calls and messages we have been inundated with!

We obviously knew just how great a person ‘Papa’ was, but after the last 24 hours, we now truly realise just how highly he was regarded by everyone else that knew him!

The one thing ‘Papa’ asked for before he went was a ‘bloody good spread’ at his funeral, so it is because of this that the family would like to invite everyone that knew Ian to join us next Friday 18th May at Peterborough crematorium at 1pm, followed by a celebration of his life at The Woodman pub at Thorpe Wood Golf Course.

We would request that family flowers only please and look forward to seeing you all there.

Former GB International Hutchinson originally signed for the Phantoms in 2006-7 after joing from the elite leagues Manchester Phoenix. Hutchinson had42 points in that first season finding theback of the net 5 times and recording 37 assists. The following season at the Phantoms his tally was 43 points with 11 goals and 32 assists. In 2008-9 his tally rose to 58 points with 10 goals and 48 assists.

Hutchy spent the 2009-10 season in the Elite League with the Hull Stingrays, and then returned to Peterborough for 2010-11 where he 41 points (4 +37)

Last season Hutchinson played alongside former Phantom Craig Peacock at the Belfast Giants, claiming an Elite League winners medal during the campaign.

Head Coach Jon Kynaston commented on Hutchinsons signing ‘Hutchinson is a player I wanted, he is a quality defenceman and a player that plays to win.

‘He is passionate about being a winner and thats infectious in the loker room. I know James well and i know his heart is in Peterborough and that for me is also a very important part of the make up of this team we are building.’

Phantoms Head Coach, Jon Kynaston, commented ‘It’s great to have Paul back on-board for this season. He is an experienced team manager and a great support in many areas on the hockey side.’

Bignell has experience not just at club level, but was also the Great Britain Under 20′s Team manager fopr a number of years, travelling around Europe with the team to the various IIHF World Championships.

Kynaston continued ‘I am looking forward to continuing to work with closely with Paul throughout the Summer as we build the 2012-13 Phantoms squad, and throughout next season.’

Ferrara is one of the top young British players currently in the English Premier League, and despite missing a large part of the Phantoms post-Christmas campaign with a leg injury he still amassed 24 Goals and 20 assists in just 36 games.

Graham was one of the Phantoms strongest D-Men last season, and established himself as a fans favourite with his gritty style of play. He found the back of the net 8 time slast season with a further 21 assists.

Coach Jon Kynaston commented ‘These are two fantastic young players, and i’m delighted that they will be part of the fold again

‘Luke is an exceptional talent. He has the skill, work ethic, passion and an ability to score goals. He has an exciting career in front of him and I am pleased that the immediate future is with us. He is a professional young man and I expect him to make a big impact in 2012-13.

‘Joe Graham is a maturing hockey player and having coached Joe before with Great Britain I had no question of his potential when he joined. He started to show that potential and I am sure that in 2012-13 Joe will come to the fore as a leading defenceman in the EPL.

Phantoms Head Coach, Jon Kynaston, speaking on Friday siad ‘The signing of  these three was a priority for me and the club.

‘In the second half of last season their combination and offensive threat was up there with the top guys and lines in our league, and they are all improving hockey players as well.

‘Tom gets stronger and more direct, Jimmy’s all round game is superb and I will be encouraging him to continue to contribute offensively as well as being the defensive foil for his linemates. Ondrej is a great linemate, puts points up and is great guy to have around the team.

‘ I am absolutely delighted they are all returning.’

Ferrara was the big winner at the clubs End of Season Awards, walking away with three trophies on the back of a season that saw him record 64 points in 54 games (18 Goals and 46 Assists). Lauko joined in Mid-December and immediately showed the club what they had been missing in the early part of th season. He finished the campaign second in the goalscoring charts for Phantoms and recorded 53 points in 34 games (28 Gaols and 28 Assists). Carlon joined the team in the New Year and looked as though he had never been away. In 25 games he scored 14 times nd had 18 assists (32 points) as he helped the Phantoms push for the play-offs.

The club are expected to announce more signings in the next few days,as they start to build for the new campaign.

Mark has extensive experiences in his field having worked previously with Sheffield United FC, Castleford Tigers Rugby League. He also had a successful period working closely with the 2008 Chinese Olympic Squad preparing and executing for the Beijing games. The Chinese at that time became the most successful Olympic Squad of all time.

Mark is based in Peterborough and is passionate about working with the club. He has also recently been working with the Great Britain Ice Hockey Program.

Coach Jon Kynaston said of the appointment ‘fitness is the foundation of any athletes ability to succeed and indeed excel, it comes for free and is something we need to lead on as a team. Mark joining us is a huge fillet to support where we want to be in terms of fitness and strength in places.

‘I have worked with Mark before – he is a professional trainer and works with professional sportsmen at a high level, he knows his stuff and will benefit our program, from now.

I am looking, as soon as the roster is complete, to get to work on fitness as it isn’t something we can, or should, wait until August to think about’

Laws was also looking forward to the challenge ahead and said ‘I’m looking forward to working with Jon and the rest of the team and putting something back into a Peterborough team.

‘We’ll be working on players fitness, speed and strength to help the team be a lot stronger out on the ice.

Everyone involved with the Phantoms organisation would like to welcome Mark to the fold.

Kynaston will replace Chris Allen who was Player Coach for last season, which saw the team finish 8th in the league and lose out to the Guildford Flames at the Quarter Final stages of the end of season Play-Offs.

Kynaston takes on the role for a second time having taken the team to the Play Off final in 2005

A spokesman for the Bretton based club commented ‘Jon is one of the highest qualified coaches in UK who feels the time is right for him to take on the challenge of Coaching a team in the Premier League.’

‘Despite the club having interest from other coaches, we felt the opportunity to have a highly qualified local coach was a great opportunity to begin building from firm foundations with the club at heart.’

‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank Chris Allen for his efforts last season’

Kynaston, who is also looking forward to the challenge ahead, said ‘It is great to be offered the chance to lead the Phantoms. I’m excited by the opportunity and can’t wait to get started.’

The club expects to announce it’s first signings in the coming days.

10 Awards were given out on the night, with 7 of them being voted for by the Phantoms fans over the last few weeks.

The Awards were presented by Phantoms Legend Dwayne Newman.

Winners on the night were…

Best Defender: Joe Graham
Best Forward: Tom Carlon
Most Improved Player: Richie Bentham
Phillip Ruskin Young Player Award: Luke Ferrara
Maggie Macfarlane Award: Damian King
Phantoms Supporters Club Player of the Year: Maris Ziedins
Contribution to the Club: Audrey Wells
Players Player of the Year: James Ferrara
Coaches Play of the Year: James Ferrara
Player of the Year: James Ferrara